Dodgers Open Season With Grand Slam Victory

LOS ANGELES, CA — Joc Pederson's third-inning grand slam was among four Dodger home runs as they began their 60th season in Los Angeles with a 12- 3 victory over the San Diego Padres Monday at a sold-out Dodger Stadium.

Clayton Kershaw allowed two hits and two runs, one earned, in seven innings, striking out eight in his seventh consecutive opening day start as the Dodgers won their seventh consecutive season opener and ninth of the last 10.

Yasmani Grandal followed Pederson's grand slam with the first of his two homers. Grandal hit a two-run homer in the eight for the first multi-home run game by a Dodger on opening day since Raul Mondesi on April 5, 1999.

Corey Seager hit a three-run homer with two out in the fifth before a crowd announced at 53,701.

The four home runs were an opening day franchise record.

Pederson's grand slam was the first by a Dodger on opening day since Eric Karros in 2000.

Pederson drove in the Dodgers first run of the season with a second- inning sacrifice fly. His five RBI are a career high and the most by a Dodger on opening day since Mondesi had six in 1999.

The Dodgers combined singles by Kershaw and Andrew Toles, Justin Turner's RBI double that knocked out starter Jhoulys Chacin and two wild pitches by Christian Bethancourt, a catcher pitching his third game in the majors, for three runs in the fourth.

Kershaw retired 17 consecutive batters between Yangervis Solarte's first- inning RBI single and Ryan Schimpf's seventh-inning homer.

Kershaw was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

Kershaw is 5-0 in his seven opening day starts with a 0.99 ERA, the second lowest all-time ERA on opening day with a minimum of five starts behind the late Rick Mahler's 0.92 with the Atlanta Braves in the 1980s.

Chacin allowed nine runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings in his debut with San Diego after splitting last season between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels.

Manuel Margot doubled with two outs in the eighth off reliever Chris Hatcher to drive in Travis Jankowski for the Padres final run.

Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda and former Dodger outfielder Wally Moon -- on his 87th birthday -- threw ceremonial first pitches.

Lasorda's first pitch came four days before the 40th anniversary of his first opening day as the team's manager, a 5-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on April 7, 1977, at Dodger Stadium. His friend Frank Sinatra sang the national anthem and Gary Thomasson hit a home run off future Hall of Famer Don Sutton on the game's first pitch that day.

Moon played for the Dodgers from 1959-65 and is best remembered for his penchant for hitting home runs, dubbed "Moon shots" over the 42-foot screen in left field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the team played through 1961.

Brett Young sang the national anthem, one day after losing out to Jon Pardi for new male vocalist of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Young was raised in Orange County and pitched for Calvary Chapel High School, Mississippi, Irvine Valley College and Fresno State.

City News Service; Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers' Joc Pederson reacts after hitting a grand slam home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Ryan Kang/Associated Press)